OIA and ILH make historic football agreement

Waianae running back Skyler Kaleiohi reacted after fumbling the ball on a hit by Saint Louis linebacker Isaiah Feary in the 2017 season opener for both schools. There will be many more games between teams from both leagues starting in 2018 after an agreement was reached between the two leagues. Photo by Jamm Aquino/Star-Advertiser.

When Interscholastic League of Honolulu athletic directors voted unanimously in the affirmative Monday, it put the finishing touches on a historic football agreement with the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

For 2018 and 2019 under a two-year pilot program, the OIA and ILH will play a full slate of interleague, nonleague, regular-season games, according to sources from both leagues.

The agreement caps more than a month of negotiations and hard work by the brass of the two leagues. It was done to ensure more competitive and safe games and avoid the blowouts and mismatches that have cropped up in recent seasons, according to sources.

It was also done to help fill out the schedule for the six OIA Open Division teams and the three ILH Open teams. The agreement also includes full interleague competition in Division I and II.

The last step for the agreement to become a reality is for principals from ILH schools to vote in favor of it. Sources say that vote will be a formality, since the ILH ADs unanimously voted for it.

The idea for the deal came from the OIA’s league office and was passed on to the ILH.

The OIA and ILH will continue to be separate as far as league standings and championships are concerned. Interleague games will not count in a team’s league record, but will count in a team’s overall record.

The state tournament formats will remain the same. For instance, the Open Division will continue to have one ILH and three OIA representatives.

For years, fans and some coaches and ADs were clamoring for some sort of interleague setup — especially for the top programs. And they finally got what they wanted.

In the Open Division, for example, fans will be treated to games involving Saint Louis, Kahuku, Punahou, Mililani, Waianae, Kamehameha, Farrington, Kapolei and Campbell every week.

For more on the agreement and what it will look like exactly in 2018, click here for our complete coverage in Tuesday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Columnist Ferd Lewis also weighed in on the new look for prep football here.

COMMENTS

Footballyoubet
February 15, 2018 11:19 am

@Awrite…you’re on the money, You won’t be able to make people see if their eyes are closed and for them to listen if the don’t wanna hear..Its the simple truth…The article you posted was pretty spot on…Anything to win…

Austin Chang
February 15, 2018 12:16 pm

IS OIA Transfer is still available? As of right now more than 8+ players has moved to Campbell, also Mililani too.

Knight Marcher
February 15, 2018 3:19 pm

It’s not like Ewa Beach doesnt have enough talent already..If I was living in that community ,and had my son playing, I would be upset…Wasnt it Coach DJ that said play for your own team and build your own communities, instead of someone else’s…Lets see how he handles this one…Its gonna be interesting…

Auwe
February 18, 2018 12:44 pm

Good to see both leagues doing something good for the kids for a change! Been way past due! Only thing they haven’t got right yet is that the 4 best teams should be going for the KOA at the end of the year. Otherwise those extra 3 games is just a waste and not worth potential injuries! But yeah they are almost there! Keep trying they will finally get it right! Go big red!!!

anywaaaays!!
February 19, 2018 12:42 pm

All of you guys thinking this is good for “the kids.” mark my words: this was specifically engineered by the ILH Agenda to make recruiting WAY more lucrative for the ILH. you’re gonna see more overt and harder recruiting. This will destroy OIA football and local communities that support their local schools, which is exactly what the ILH wants.

Awrite!!
February 20, 2018 9:54 pm

anywaaaays!! congrats on your punahou buffnblue winning the BBall title

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